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You can do it yourself...

I asked about that for my place. What the contractor told me is if you suspect asbestos, (or if it tests positive) then you can wear a disposable jumpsuit and approved respirator, collect all the debris into bags, and then either haul or pay to haul it to a certified disposal site.

It's expensive to have a contractor do it because there's so much prep work - you have remove *everything*, mask off the walls with plastic, mask off the floors with plastic (unless you want to replace the carpet at the same time).

It's easy to do, it's just time consuming.

Call around to see if someone can come out and test yours. If there's no asbestos, there's no danger in doing it yourself. I'd sill wear disposable clothes and use a good respirator, it's messy as all heck.

Instead of removing it, consider covering it with sheetrock. You'll avoid removal issues, and the resulting surface will probably be more even. Plus added insulation value (noise and energy). Just make sure it's properly installed - lots of nails, at every joist.

After you remove the popcorn you may find you need a skim coat of drywall compound over the entire ceiling.

One of the reasons they used popcorn so much as it's a low labor way of hiding imperfections.

Here's something a designer told me.

She reccommends to her clients that they put up 1/4" drywall right over the existing popcorn! She said it's cheaper by far.

If you do that, you'll want to *paint* the popcorn first. Give it a good thick coat. The paint will hold it in place and keep it from falling off (and getting fibers in the air) while your new drywall is installed.

i concur w/ covering it with sheet rock - it gives you a new smooth service to work with and is simple enough to do yourself/inexpensive enough to hire someone.

I had the exact same issue when I bought my condo in WeHo a few years ago. Instead of doing it myself, I called up a contractor named William Estrada, and he did an amazing job. (He also did a few other improvements for me, like taking out an entire wall that was mirrored and removing bad light fixtures) Also, he was affordable--around $500 - $600 just for ceilings for my 1200 sq ft place, and it took about 3 days.

If you need his info and pics of how it looked after he was done, I'd be more than happy to send it along.

PS Whether you do it yourself, or have someone do it for you, it is the MESSIEST job ever--get a lot of drop cloths!!

steenks - you got an awesome deal. I couldn't even get a skim coat done for that price.

The danger with asbestos is when it gets in the air. If the ceiling is nice and wet and you have a mask on you'll be fine.

Ive put up sheet rock on a wall but never a ceiling. That sounds like hard work. I'd rather scrape off a popcorn ceiling than do that.

Putting sheet rock on a ceiling is a cinch for a handyman. Our contractor did it because our kitchen ceiling was so uneven and it wasn't a big deal at all.

If you are smart and concern for you safety, you will have it inspected first and removed professionally if needed. I used:

Environmental Inspection Services, Santa Monica.

For removal I used:

A-Rapco, Santa Monca.

They are both great.

DO NOT REMOVE THIS YOURSELF IF IT HAS ASBESTOS!

There is a reason professional companies exist to do this.

You can have it tested. I did and found asbestos in mine. We chose to cover it with 1/4 drywall and have it finished. It came out great.

Those who say it is wet, etc don't have a clue. There is a reason asbestos is baned. It is dangerous. You owe it to yourself, your neighbors and the refuse folks to not place anyone in danger.

I like Spinner's idea.

Add sheetrock over the popcorn. This will also give you the opportunity to install lighting that would otherwise be impossible to do.

Sheetrock. It'll give you a perfectly even surface if done correctly, as well as additional insulation and soundproofing.

The thing about asbestos is that if it's untouched, it's not as dangerous, but when you start fooling with it, it gets into the air. I think the idea of painting it is good, because that would seal it in, so that whenever you start screwing the sheetrock into it, it would stay up there above the sheetrock.

Get it tested for asbestos, and then you will know.

Also, if you paint over the popcorn- it makes it *much* harder to remove at a later date. Might work ok now, but some later owner will be very very unhappy with you! Not that that should necessarily determine what you do...

I did it myself a few years ago and it was pretty easy. I my house is 1,100 sq. ft. and it took me about 4 days from start to finish. You might have to use a skim coat if the ceiling isn't in good condition, but you might also be able to get away with just using drywall compound on the imperfections before you prime and paint.

If you want to do it yourself, put a tarp down underneath the area you're scraping, get a squirt bottle, a scraper, a pair of safety goggles, and a mask for your nose and mouth. All you do is squirt the popcorn, let the water set for about 30 seconds, then scrape away. It's really not hard and it's totally satisfying to have done it myself.

Do not remove it yourself if it has asbestos. I had dust from the collapse of the World Trade Center in my apartment and did an enormous amount of research to decide what I had to throw out. Cleaning doesn't get rid of it.It gets into the air - and then will settle into cracks in walls and floors, rugs, bedding, etc. The risks of it becoming airborne again are unknown.

Since my building was converted to co-ops in 1979, I thought I'd check exactly when asbestos was banned, since I hoped to get rid of mine shortly - it wasn't until 1996!

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE5DA1531F934A35754C0A96F948260&sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=all

I'd cover it with sheetrock. However, I wouldn't use nails, which will eventually pop out. I'd use the special screws designed for sheetrock. Besides, you try hammering a nail into a ceiling! Use a rechargeable drill with a magnetic bit and you should have no problem attaching the sheetrock (which can either be held up by a friend or by renting a special jack from the tool store). I wouldn't even attempt to remove the popcorn.

I'd sheetrock it (after painting). keep in mind if you decide to get it tested (a must if you're removing it) you are required by law to disclose this in the event of a sale.